


home is just a room full of my safest sounds

by princecliffcrd



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Slight Smut, based on three songs from blue neighborhood, first two chapters will be posted at the same time, if i missed any triggers just tell me!!, meant to be a one shot but it's also for my friends birthday, there will be a car accident so be warned, third one won't come for a few weeks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-20
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-03 07:15:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6601777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princecliffcrd/pseuds/princecliffcrd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a galaxy of freckles seemed to decorate the boy's long arms and shoulders, and michael wondered if he'd ever be able to count them all. </p>
<p>or rather; the kinda fic where michael loves luke from the day they met</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. PART I — YOUTH

**Author's Note:**

> first of all, happy birthday elaina!!!! i hope it is a wonderful 19th birthday filled with nothing but the best bc that's what you deserve!!
> 
> second of all i'm actually p proud of this for many reasons, and i hope y'all enjoy it too!!!

the first time michael meets luke, he is sixteen years old and already doesn't fit in with the "popular crowd" at school, not with the band tshirts he wears or the music he's always blasting from his earbuds. 

there's a family moving in next door, from what he can tell whilst glancing out his bedroom window, but most of his focus is on his computer, fingers clicking away furiously as he tries to keep up with the obviously older gamers that he's playing with. although, upon finding a lull in activity he looks up once again, eyebrows furrowing slightly upon counting four family (he assumes, considering they all have the same mop of blond hair) carrying packages inside. once again, from what he can tell there seems to be two boys who look a few years older than him, a mom, and a dad. 

and then, michael spots another, shorter teenage boy, and his eyebrows seem to furrow even more, as he cranes his neck to get a better look and ends up tipping his desk chair back on its hind legs. although he's never say it out loud, he was – well, he was pretty. and while michael had never heard that word used to describe a boy before, it was fitting in every sense of the word. sure, the boy was still just as awkward as michael, with thin legs, knobby knees and long blond fringe — even though it wasn't as long as michael's own, it seemed a lot softer to the touch. he really wanted to run his fingers through it.

the slight frown on his face is immediately gone as he finds bright blue eyes meeting his duller green ones that go wide when he realizes that the two have made eye contact. the boy smiles at michael, before raising a hand and waving at him. biting back a smile of his own, he raises his own hand and waves back, heart rate increasing to a mile a minute as the boy seems to giggle, although michael can't hear it from his bedroom. he's about to leave though, get up and go meet the boy and shake hands and hear the giggle for himself, but a deafening explosion rings in his headphones and surprises him, causing the chair to fall backwards and yank his headphones off, the computer nearly coming off of his desk.

"michael? is everything okay?" his mom calls from downstairs, having obviously heard the loud thump from downstairs. he's quick to get up, head poking back up in the window to look for the other boy. huffing an irritated breath when he sees the yard is empty, michael stands, fixing everything in his desk area as his bedroom door opens, his mom walking in with a hand over her eyes. "are you decent?" she calls, a teasing smile on her face as his cheeks burn bright red.

"moooom......" he groans in embarrassment, pushing her lightly as she brings the hand away from her eyes and laughs. 

"why don't you come downstairs and meet the new neighbors, honey? the hemmings seem like a very nice family, and they even have a boy your age!" she smiles, reaching out to comb michael's fringe back before licking her thumb and reaching out to wipe dust from his face — much to his distaste. he's about to say no, that he wants to get back to his game thank you very much. but a loud laugh filters in through his window, reminding michael of how his heart had raced when he'd seen the other boy. and he supposed it wouldn't hurt to have someone to hang out with this summer when calum left for soccer camp.

and that's how he ended up dragging his feet across his own yard to the house next door, thankfully spotting the boy from earlier sitting on the curb, arms wrapped around his knees. taking a deep breath, michael forced himself to keep moving, telling himself that his sweaty palms were due to the hot weather that day as he sat down next to the other teen, mimicking his position. 

"um — hey there. i'm michael clifford, i'm sixteen, and i live next door." smooth. real smooth. 

to his surprise, the boy giggles softly, turning his head and resting his chin on his own arm so they're looking each other in the eyes once more. a galaxy of freckles seemed to decorate the boy's long arms and shoulders, and michael wondered if he'd ever be able to count them all. swallowing hard, he looks back towards the boy's bright blue eyes, resisting the urge to put his chin on his own arm as well, knowing fully well that that would put the two nose to nose and well — they barely even know each other, is the thing. 

"hi. i'm luke hemmings, i'm fifteen, and i live right here on this curb." there's a shy smile on luke's face as he says that, and he seems almost nervous that his joke wasn't very funny. which, if michael was being honest, it wasn't that funny at all. still, he chuckles softly, and knows he made the right decision when luke's eyes light up even more, the soft smile becoming more sure as he hides his face in his arm a bit. michael realizes that to get this friendship going, he'll have to do most of the talking — which, that's okay, he does that a lot with calum, and the two are nearly inseparable. taking a deep breath, michael nudges their shoulders together, smiles reassuringly at luke before he speaks up.

"do you like green day?"


	2. PART II — SUBURBIA.

michael clifford is seventeen years old when he accepts he's in love with one of his closest friends. he had realized it long ago, when they first made eye contact on the day luke moved next door. but the mind and the heart are two completely different things, and it took him an entire year of battling his own mind to accept the fact that he's bisexual. it was a scary thought — almost worse when he came out to luke and nearly cried all the tears out of his body because he thought the blond would hate him.

but instead, luke wrestled him into a cuddle with his dumb lanky limbs and soft skin, promising michael endless promises of never hating him, and that he'd always be there to support him. 

that was a few months ago, and it was now luke's seventeenth birthday. instead of having a big party, the blond teen had decided instead on a small gathering between the two of them, calum, and calum's older ("it's only two years, michael!") boyfriend, ashton with the house to themselves. he hadn't quite known what to get luke at first — especially after coming out to him — and in a truly michael fashion, waited until the last possible second to buy his best friend a gift. 

so that had been why he was currently pounding on the hemmings' door, poorly wrapped gift clutched in his left hand and bottom lip pulled tight between his teeth. after a few agonizing seconds, the door swung open to reveal the birthday boy himself, a wide smile on his face that quickly turned smug when he saw it was michael. 

"you're laaaaate..." he sang teasingly, bouncing on his toes as he did so — recently the blond had been doing everything he could to show off his growth spurt, much to the annoyance of the three other boys he usually hung out with. except now, it was almost endearing with how childlike luke was, obviously happy to have the other boy there at that moment. mirroring luke's grin with a gleeful smile of his own, he rolled his eyes fondly at the blond's antics before pulling him into a tight hug, nose immediately pressing into the spot where the taller male's shoulder and neck met.

"sorry. wanted to make sure i got you the perfect gift." he mumbles the words into the galaxy of freckles painted across luke's shoulders, like its a secret meant to be held between the duo. "happy birthday."

"i feel like it has more to do with you waiting until the last minute, but thanks. 'm glad you're here." while the beginning of the sentence is obviously teasing michael, the blond's voice becomes softer, more sincere as he wraps a hand around the back of his neck and grips tightly, like there's a possibly that when they pull away, michael will float away. even after they do break the hug, he can still feel luke's fingerprints burning into his skin as he steps inside, toeing his shoes off and heading down the very familiar hallway to the hemmings' kitchen.

michael almost immediately regrets this decision when he comes upon the scene that is calum sitting on one of the kitchen counters, ashton standing between his legs as they make out. yelling in surprise, michael slaps a hand over his eyes and bowls into luke on his way in, sending the two teens crashing to the floor and sending calum and ashton into a fit of tear inducing laughter. from under him, luke groans softly, face furrowed into a frown as michael clambered to get off of him, cheeks bright pink from embarrassment.

"you guys are the fucking worst — seriously, get a room." he huffs, helping the blond up while resisting the urge to chuck his birthday present at the tan boy. 

calum flips them both off while ashton giggles and hides his face in his hands, his own cheeks bright pink as well. it feels almost family like, and while luke is lecturing calum about pda ( instead of it being ashton lecturing about – well, anything ) michael can't help but take in the blond with a small smile, from the towering new quiff on his head to the way his toes are curled in on each other. almost like a method of self defense, even if it was a shitty one at that.

luke looked fucking adorable, and michael's heart thrummed loudly at the sight, one word racing through his mind as he slings an arm around the blond's shoulders. 

home.

"let's just cut the cake and shit, yeah?" he almost reaches a hand up to ruffle luke's hair, but stops short when he remembers how much product must be in the short waves, and ends up awkwardly patting the top of his head instead. setting his present on the kitchen table, he leads his friend over to the counter, keeping their sides pressed together tightly as ashton lights the candles, and they begin to sing to the birthday boy.

much later, when calum and ashton leave to take over as babysitter for ashton's younger siblings, michael and luke are still pressed side to side on the blond's bed, michael's present laying on his stomach — still unopened. despite michael insisting that it wasn't a special gift or anything, luke wanted to wait until they were alone, claiming that the brunet was his favorite person and all gifts were special to him.

calum and ashton had left nearly an hour prior and luke still hadn't unwrapped the gift — but michael found himself feeling okay with that. with their arms pressed together, nearly overlapping, it almost felt like that were holding hands. if he curled his pinkie slightly, it would interlock with luke's, and upon attempting this, the blond next to him turned his hand over, allowing their hands to fit together perfectly, fingers automatically interlacing as luke gave a gentle squeeze.

michael swallowed hard, palm becoming sweaty as he gave a tighter squeeze back. 

"are you gonna open the present?" his voice is shaky, only shows more of his nerves as he turns slightly onto his side to look more at luke, hands still clasped together as he raised an eyebrow at his friend. there's a lazy smile on his face as he looks up at michael, as if he's this grand beautiful thing in him that can't be easily seen. and it makes him blush, duck his head down until his face is hidden by luke's shoulder. there's a strong urge in the pit of michael's stomach telling him to kiss one of the freckles on the blond's bicep, halfway covered by the boy's shirt sleeve.

instead, he reaches for his present, brings it up closer between the two and squeezes luke's hand before he pulls away and sits up, now anxiously awaiting the moment when the cheap wrapping paper would be torn apart. after a huffed sigh and a few struggled seconds of luke trying to pull himself up, the moment comes.

thin fingers slowly dig into the crude wrapping job and pull it apart, which only serves to put michael more on edge, and he bites hard on the inside of his cheek, digging his own hands hard into his thigh to prevent himself from reaching out and tearing open the wrapping paper himself. 

there's silence for a few minutes as the paper finally comes off, and underneath is a few travel books for los angeles, as well as a cheap polariod camera michael found at a garage sale and some film. scared that he offended the tall blond in some way, he swallows hard, knocks his knee gently against luke's so they're looking each other in the eyes.

"you've, um — you've been talking a lot recently about how you wanted to go to los angeles, and sing and all that and after you uh — after you said you'd always support me, i just wanted to show you that i feel the same way. about you. supporting you, i mean!" michael nearly says the whole thing in one breath, the previously dying blush on his cheeks flaring back up and spreading down his neck as he finishes, inhales, and shrugs in an attempt to play it off.

he expects luke to thank him, at least pretending to be touched at the thought michael had put into the gift. 

what he doesn't expect, however, is for luke to calmly set the gifts on his bedside table, toss the crumpled wrapping paper on the floor, and then tackle him into a hug, arms wrapping tightly around his neck as michael falls back on his elbows, eyes wide as he processes what's happening before he hugs luke back.

"thank you thank you thank you," the blond whispers, nose gently nuzzling under michael's jaw as he hugs the lanky teen back, eyes squeezing shut as he tries to hug luke back with all of his might. 

"s'not a problem, luke, really. you're my best friend, you know?" michael pulls back, eyes wide as he sees waves of tears shining in the blond's sea blue eyes. squeezing his arms in between them, he reaches up to gently brush the tears away, before hesitating and leaning their foreheads together. "even if we're apart...i'll always be with you." he whispered, pulling back to smile softly at the blond.

a small laugh escapes past luke's lips, and he brings his hand up to wipe his nose with, an endeared smile on his face. "did you just quote winnie the pooh at me?" he mumbled, reaching forward to brush their noses together in an almost eskimo kiss. despite the light question, the air between them has gotten heavier, and michael swallows hard before licking his lips, hands trembling slightly from where they sit now on the blond's pale hips.

"i uh, i--" instead of actually answering, michael plunges ahead and closes the gaps between them, lips pressing together a bit awkwardly. as far as first kisses go, it wasn't perfect by any means, but it was more than enough for michael, especially when he felt the blond's soft lips moving against his own chapped ones.

there's a few minutes going by of changing angles and positions, before they finally get it going, with luke laying on his back, legs spread for michael to sit between with their hips pressed flushed together. they fit like puzzles pieces, mouths beginning to move hotly against one another as michael rubs circles into the blond's hips, allowing luke to run his hands through michael's long hair as he does so. 

it's minutes later that they break apart, lips red and swollen and soft giggles falling from luke's mouth as michael steals a few more quick kisses, a wide smile decorating his own face as he finally sits back and speaks.

"you have no idea how long i've waited for that."


	3. PART III — TALK ME DOWN.

michael clifford is nineteen years old when everything seems to fall apart in front of him.

things had been great with luke when they started dating, and had stayed good right until a few months ago, when the blond started saying no to date nights, and made obvious lies about what he was doing on those missed date nights. (the two had been best friends for years, and luke was a really shitty liar.)

out of fear that he'd anger or upset luke, michael decided to not say anything, instead deciding to become accepting of his boyfriend's missed dates. he'd tell michael eventually, right?  


it was their first anniversary when everything began to crumble, faster than he could reach out and salvage as much as possible. he'd invited luke over for dinner at six o'clock and a movie after, knowing that calum and ashton were giving them the apartment for the weekend. it seemed like a picture perfect night, and michael had even planned on attempting to cook for the blond.

but, when the clock showed seven and luke still hadn't shown up, he began to get worried, wondering anxiously if this was luke's twisted way of breaking up with him without actually having to do it. michael began to pace, heart racing wildly in his chest as he continually wiped sweaty palms on his thighs. it was an ever growing battle with the clock as he tried to hold out from calling the blond, eyes trained on his shoes as he walked in circles around the living room.

he was so focused on pacing and not calling that he nearly jumped out of his skin when luke appeared in front of him, hands gently squeezing his shoulders as he finally looked up into the bright blue eyes of his boyfriend. michael would always notice the boy's eyes first, they were one of his favorite qualities about the lanky teen.

(who was he kidding though, every quality of luke's was michael's favorite).

this time though, he definitely noticed the bags under the blond's eyes, and how luke seemed exhausted, but also definitely happy about said exhaustion. glad to have him there, michael cupped his jaw gently, thumbs brushing softly over the taller boy's cheeks as he leaned in to kiss him softly. luke responded quickly and eagerly into the kiss, opening his mouth a bit wider for michael to take over. a smirk on his lips and the previous moments forgotten about, he pushed at luke's chest until they hit the couch, teeth clashing slightly at the fervor of the kiss.

pulling back as they laid down, michael immediately moved to pull luke's shirt off as well as his own, before leaning back down and kissing at luke's pale neck. as with the kiss, the blond was pliant in moving automatically as he was touched, not needing words or directions to know to tilt his head back. despite having only been together for a year, michael's hands knew their way around luke's body already, and it wasn't long before the two were a sweaty mess of tangled limbs on his apartment couch.

there was a comfortable silence between the two, as michael kissed the top of luke's curls before attempting (as he always did when they cuddled or slept together) to count all the freckles lightly dusting the taller boy's shoulders.

it was around thirty five that luke, in a hushed tone, whispered "i need to tell you something."

he continued counting, not fazed in the slightest as he hummed softly as an affirmative for his boyfriend to go on. often, these were moments when the two confessed how their day had really been, or what was troubling them recently. although michael wasn't counting out loud, the blond sensed he didn't have his attention and huffed softly, and then luke's calloused fingertips were lightly pulling his jaw up, noses being inches out of reach as luke bit at his lip ring, seeming more nervous now than he had prior.

michael pursed his lips together, knowing that if he waited, luke would work up the nerve to speak on his own accord.

"i got a record deal. i'm uh — i'm moving to los angeles."  


and well. that wasn't quite what he expected.

michael opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it once more before he slowly sat up, eyebrows drawn together as he stared at the cruddy apartment carpet. with his toes digging in to ground himself, he sucked in air through his teeth. while luke hadn't outright broken up with him, michael knew that more often than not, long distance relationships were not a thing that typically worked out. especially for a celebrity. besides, luke was the more attractive of the two — surely he would want someone much more attractive than what he had currently.

there was a long, awkward silence as michael pressed the heel of his hand into his thighs, leaving small red marks behind over the scars that already resided there. squeezing his eyes shut, michael inhaled again, a deep breath that sounded more like a gasp. "when do you leave?" he asked softly, not daring to even glance over at luke and no doubt see glassy blue eyes stare back at him. they both tended to be criers in emotional situations.

"tomorrow."

michael swore softly, exhaling as he did so and standing so he could reach for his boxers and pull them on. the moment of intimacy was gone, and the only current reminder that it had happened were the scratch marks etched into michael's pale shoulders, which had turned a soft shade of pink from slight embarrassment. running a hand through his sweaty hair (it was a faded blue — luke's favorite color), he swallowed hard before finally turning back to the blond. as expected, soft tears were rolling down luke's cheeks, hands gripping his own knees so tightly that his knuckles were white.

there were too many things to say, to ask. but nothing that would ever make the pain go away.

"i guess this is goodbye then."

and so it was. luke dressed, promised to send calum or ashton for his things in a week or so (the lovebird little fuckers were camping together, as per ashton's request), before he kissed michael one last time, whispered "i love you." and left.

despite the warm temperature of his apartment, michael had never felt so numb before this. what felt like half an hour later, he forced his stiff limbs to move, nearly falling as he slumped into the kitchen and grabbed a six pack of beer from the crappy old fridge. the pressure in his chest only intensified as he saw a polariod of him and luke hanging from one of the magnets, looking happier than he thought possible at the given moment. if only they knew.

shuffling back to the living room, he glares at the couch as he passes it, as if it had some bearing on the events that had transpired in the past hour. instead of sitting on it, he moves to the bookcase, pulling out a hefty photo album and flopping onto the middle of the floor. on the front are the words 'for him.' in luke's messy scrawl, and while he'd already planned on drinking, the handwriting only pushes him further towards opening one of the beers next to him before he opens the photo album.

he's met with a polaroid of him and luke on the boy's seventeenth birthday, not long after they'd had their first kiss. with messy hair, bright eyes, and smiles so wide it must hurt their cheeks, michael feels like the picture his mocking him, just like the one on the fridge had. he flips to the next page, but is only met with another picture of luke — this time it's a snapshot of the blond at the lake house calum's aunt owns, and graciously allowed the four boys to take it over last summer. anger and regret burns bright in michael's lower abdomen as he stares the picture down, unable to understand how he'd let everything fall apart so quickly.

beers and pictures go by until michael is drunk and his vision is fuzzy around the edges. it feels like only minutes have passed, but when the slightest bit of sunshine peeks through the clouds and into michael's eyes, he realizes he must've been sitting (and eventually laying, when he was too drunk to sit up) there for hours. shame pokes at the burnt out embers of his anger, demanding what michael was going to do about the mess he made. although it had seemed like an easy idea at first, the task in front of him seemed daunting. how was he going to stop luke from getting on the plane before they got back together?

and then it clicks.

michael was going to drive to the airport and stop luke!! it was such a simple idea once he realized it, and despite his struggle to simply stand, he continues on, jamming his feet into an old pair of vans and grabbing a jacket and what he believes to be his keys before running outside and to his car, nearly tripping down the stairs of his apartment building as he goes.

there's a rushed panic to his actions as he attempts to unlock his car and get inside before more time can pass. this panic only worsens as michael attempts to buckle up, missing it the first few times and nearly bursting into tears before the seatbelt clicks into place on the fourth attempt.

and now michael is speeding towards the airport, phone pressed to his ear as he squints heavily in an attempt to make the road focus before his eyes.

he's gotta go, gotta go now, has to stop luke now.

biting so hard on his bottom lip that it bleeds a little, a shocked laugh bubbles out of michael as luke answers the call.

"michael? what's wrong?"

not too far in front of him, a stoplight at a four way turns yellow. he ignores it, even speeding up a little to go ahead and run the red light.

luke asks what's wrong again.

"luke, lukey listen to me, please ––"

as michael crossed the intersection he failed to notice the truck barreling towards his smaller car, and was immediately cut off as the passenger side of his car was smashed into, knocking his head into the window and sending the car skidding before rolling into a nearby ditch. hanging upside down but held in tight by his seat belt, michael is knocked unconscious, phone laying on the roof by the passenger seat. amid loud static, luke's voice is heard once more.

"michael?"

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr at www.pocalums.tumblr.com !!


End file.
